Three Monkeys Online has a lengthy interview with MJ Hyland, to discuss Carry Me Down in particular, and her work in general.
Some sample quotes:
“On the first reading it should be superficially simple, but engaging, with a strong narrative pull. I intend to give the reader a reason to turn the page, so a good story on the surface, deceptively simple, minimalist, told with pared-back language. A nine-year old could read this book. But underneath the surface, I attempt to insinuate things, to do this quietly, and I suppose there’s a risk in that, because I have to trust that a reader who likes the book will go back and read it again, and notice what’s hidden, submerged.”
“I thought of novel writing recently as being like trying to solve a 100,000 piece jigsaw puzzle wearing mittens, without a picture on the box. Over time the mittens become gloves, and you can begin to feel the pieces, and put them together, and after three/four years the picture emerges. After all that time, though, you might not like the picture [laughs]. It’s a very strange business.”
Tags: first readings, on writing novels